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Learn Cygwin / Using Cygwin Command Line

The Cygwin command line is accessed using a terminal window and provides access to command line programs including the shell. The command line interface facilitates creating and running scripts to automate processes.

See also the Using Cygwin X Windows section for information about running graphical user interface programs.

Start Terminal from Desktop Icon

The Cygwin installation process will give the option of configuring a desktop icon. On Windows 7 the desktop icon looks like the following:

desktop icon

Start Terminal from Start Menu

To start a Cygwin terminal from the Start menu, use Cygwin / Cygwin64 Terminal (for example).

Terminal Command Line

The first time that a Cygwin terminal is opened will result in some automatic setup, as shown in the following:

initial terminal

Opening a terminal for the first time creates the user /home/username folder, using the Windows login name.

Once a terminal is open, installed programs can be run by typing their name. Additional configuration of the user environment is discussed in the User Environment section.